Prize citation: “For outstanding research that has contributed to a greater understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying depression and suicidal behaviour. Through studies of inflammation and the brain’s reward system, Daniel Lindqvist has identified new possibilities for personalised treatment of patients with depression.”
Psychology and biology were already among Daniel Lindqvist’s favourite subjects in upper secondary school. When it was time to choose a degree programme, he was torn between becoming a psychologist or a doctor. After being admitted to medical school, specialising in psychiatry therefore felt like a natural choice.
“Unlike some other specialties, there is still so much left to discover in psychiatry. It’s incredibly exciting, and I have never regretted my choice of profession!”
At the same time, he became frustrated that much of the research focused on describing differences between diagnostic groups rather than understanding the biological mechanisms underlying psychiatric illness and using this knowledge to improve treatment. Daniel Lindqvist therefore wanted to move beyond broad diagnostic categories and investigate whether biological markers could be used to match the right treatment to the right patient. The long-term goal is to pave the way for more personalised and effective psychiatric care.
“Biomarkers can be measured in different ways, for example through blood tests that detect inflammation or through magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. At the same time, mental illness cannot be explained by biological factors alone; it arises from a complex interplay between genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors”.
However, simply identifying a biomarker that differs between groups is not enough. It must also have practical applications, for example by helping to improve treatment or predict illness course. Today, treatment decisions are largely guided by diagnosis, but Daniel Lindqvist hopes that in the future, treatment will instead be tailored to each patient based on the biological mechanisms underlying their illness, together with their individual symptom profile
“We recently published a study in which a drug normally used to treat Parkinson’s disease was tested as a treatment for depression. We were able to show that the treatment had a beneficial effect and that the drug influenced neural circuits in the brain involved in pleasure, motivation and reward. We are now planning a new study on bipolar depression, a difficult-to-treat condition associated with a high risk of suicide, to investigate whether the same medication could also be effective in this condition.”
Psychiatric research often relies heavily on patients’ own reports of how they feel, making objective assessment challenging. In this study, the researchers therefore also used objective measures of patients’ activity levels, which similarly demonstrated a clear treatment effect.
Daniel Lindqvist emphasizes that research is a team effort and that clinical trials of this kind are particularly demanding in terms of both time and resources. He therefore sees the nomination as recognition of the efforts of the entire research group.
“I was very happy when I heard that I had received the prize. It feels like wonderful recognition that what we are doing is important and of high quality.”